Lower Duwamish Waterway
Latest Information

Ecology, the City of Seattle, King County and the EPA work
continuously on source control. Ecology posts the latest source control
information on this page, including reports and updates on work
underway.

October 2017

Public Comment Period for South Park Landfill is October 30 –
December 13, 2017
Ecology invites your input on the following documents related to the
investigation and cleanup of the South Park Landfill Site:

Technical Advisory Meeting for the Green-Duwamish Pollutant Loading
Assessment is November 1, 2017

The Technical Advisory Committee will meet November 1 from 9:00 – 12:00
p.m. at the Tukwila Community Center Banquet Hall, 12424 42nd Avenue
South, Tukwila. We will provide a status update on forming our local
modeling team and hear a presentation about the Salish Sea Model for our
consideration. For more information on the Pollutant Loading Assessment,
visit
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/geographic/GreenDuwamish/pla.html

September 2017

Construction begins on Whitehead Tyee cleanup site (Seattle
Iron & Metals Truck Parking)
Seattle Iron & Metals Corporation and 730 Myrtle LLC started
construction on the
Whitehead Tyee cleanup site in early September. They are removing
contaminated soil as they prepare to install a stormwater treatment
system.

Comment Period for the West of 4th / Burlington Environmental
LLC Georgetown Site is September 28 through October 31, 2017
The Department of Ecology invites you to comment on documents to
continue cleanup work at the West of 4th Site located in south Seattle.
These documents include:

The pilot studies will help determine which cleanup options are most
effective. The Interim Action will clean up (remediate) soils and
shallow groundwater beneath Capitol Industries' Plant 4. More
information and documents can be found on the Burlington Environmental –
Georgetown
project website.

August 2017

Duwamish River Festival – Saturday, August 26, 2017
The Duwamish River Festival is a yearly community celebration in the
South Park Neighborhood of Seattle. This year’s event includes music,
food, crafts, free kayak tours, and Lucha Libre! Stop by the Ecology
booth to learn more about our work to control sources of pollution to
the river.

July 2017

The Green-Duwamish River Watershed Otter Scat Analysis report
is now available
Ecology analyzed PCBs in river otter scat (poop) for Dr. Michelle
Wainstein, a researcher at Woodland Park Zoo. Otters are an indicator of
the river’s health, and the EPA’s Duwamish cleanup plan specifically
includes a cleanup level for PCBs to protect river otters. Researchers
analyzed scat for levels of PCB congeners (specific PCB molecules) and
Aroclors (proprietary combinations of PCBs).

The Groundwater Sampling for PCB Congeners and Aroclors report
is now available
Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program sampled groundwater for polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs) at 14 cleanup sites in March. Nearby surface water was
also sampled at 5 of those sites. In this study, we used a method that
can detect PCB congeners (specific PCB molecules) at very low levels.

Ecology welcomes a new Lower Duwamish Urban Waters Inspector

It’s a big job to make sure that approximately 3,000 businesses in
the Lower Duwamish area are managing dangerous wastes safely and
legally. Jeffrey Gutschmidt, the Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction
program’s new Urban Waters Inspector, is ready to tackle the job!

These inspections are just one of the ways Ecology is working with
businesses to protect human health and the environment in the Lower
Duwamish! For more information contact: Jeffrey Gutschmidt (425)
649-7286 or
Jeffrey.Gutschmidt@ecy.wa.gov.

June 2017

Ecology partners with zoo to study PCBs in river otter scat,
and you can help!
Ecology provided funding to Michelle Wainstein, a researcher at Woodland
Park Zoo, to analyze PCBs in river otter scat (poop). Her team collected
samples from West Seattle, Duwamish River, Des Moines, east of Auburn,
and Black Diamond. They found higher levels of PCBs in samples collected
from the Duwamish, and lower levels in samples from upstream areas.
View
the final report here.

The North American River Otter can serve as an indicator of the
Green-Duwamish River’s health. Studying the otter population and the
toxins in their scat can help us understand how contamination moves
through the ecosystem. In fact, the Duwamish cleanup plan specifically
includes a cleanup level for PCBs to protect river otters.

May 2017

Duwamish River Long-term Stewardship: Request for Proposals
The Elliott Bay/Duwamish River Restoration Program is a program
that oversees a natural resource damage settlement with the City of
Seattle and King County. They are seeking a stewardship partner to
provide habitat stewardship services for four habitat restoration sites
on the Duwamish River near Seattle, Washington. Funding is available for
regular inspections, maintenance activities, qualitative monitoring,
adaptive management activities and community involvement on these
Duwamish restoration sites.

The first phase in the process is a request for information from
interested parties to see if they are eligible for funding. During the
second phase, eligible parties submit detailed proposals. The
eligibility information and proposals will be reviewed by the program
members including NOAA, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecology,
Muckleshoot Tribe, the Suquamish Tribe, City of Seattle, and King
County.

April 2017

New groundwater pilot studies to begin for
Burlington-Environmental Georgetown site*
Starting in May, contractors working for Stericycle will study methods
that would enhance the breakdown of 1,4 dioxane found in groundwater
under Georgetown (east of 4th Ave). The studies will test two different
below ground cleanup methods. The studies will be done along 6th Avenue
South and near the intersection of Maynard Avenue South and South Lucile
Street.

Questions? Contact Ed Jones,
Ecology’s PSC-Georgetown site manager, with questions about these
studies or other aspects of the cleanup. Email him at
ed.jones@ecy.wa.gov, or call
425-649-4449.

Ecology is sampling groundwater on cleanup sites for low
levels of PCBs
Ecology’s Toxic Cleanup Program sampled groundwater and surface water
for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at 14 cleanup sites in March. This
is part of the larger
Green-Duwamish River Watershed PCB Congener Study, to determine what
types of PCBs are found and where.

In this study, we are using a method that can detect PCB congeners
(specific PCB molecules) at very low levels. Previous analytical methods
could not measure low enough concentrations to determine if groundwater
meets water quality standards.

Seattle metal recycler fined $64,000 for pollution discharges
to Duwamish River
Ecology
fined Seattle Iron and Metals Corporation $64,000 for discharging
stormwater with excessive levels of several pollutants into the Duwamish
River. The company’s monitoring records showed 27 violations of
pollutant limits from February 2015 through December 2016. On June 20
and 21, 2016, stormwater was allowed to bypass the treatment system,
which resulted in four additional violations. Seattle Iron and Metals
Corporation also failed to submit monitoring reports for the fourth
quarter in 2015. The company paid the fine.

Ecology’s water quality penalties go to the state’s
Coastal Protection Fund which issues grants to public agencies and
tribes for water quality restoration projects.

Site Work begins for the Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment
Station
King County is beginning site demolition and soil remediation work at
the home of the future Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station. The
station will treat combined sewage and stormwater flows from the
Michigan and Brandon combined sewer overflow basins. Ecology’s Water
Quality Program reviewed the plans for this project to ensure that it
meets the state’s water quality laws. Ecology is reviewing the 90%
design documents for the treatment facility, conveyance system
improvements, and the facility’s outfall in the Duwamish River (where
treated wastewater will discharge). King County’s project website:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/dnrp/wtd/capital-projects/active/georgetown.aspx

Waste Management’s Duwamish Reload facility is ready to accept
dredged sediments Waste Management (WM) has all necessary permits to transfer
contaminated soils and sediments from trucks and barges to railcars on the
property known as the Crowley 8th Avenue Cleanup Site. WM has been accepting
contaminated soils since October. They plan to load contaminated dredged
sediments from barges to the facility in early 2017. Ecology and other local
regulatory agencies will continue to inspect the facility regularly for
compliance.

Byproduct PCBs Study
In November, Ecology released the second of three planned studies looking at the
presence of byproduct PCBs in common consumer products, such as paper and
packaging. The study looked for detectable levels of PCBs in 201 products. Read
the
full report, or download the
focus sheet.

PCBs in Sampling Equipment
Ecology has posted a
technical
memo about the potential for PCB contamination from sampling equipment
tubing materials. This factor should be considered when planning to conduct
laboratory analyses using Method 1668 (for low-level PCB congener analyses).

Carbon Amendment Pilot Study
The Lower Duwamish Waterway Group (LDWG) is conducting an Enhanced Natural
Recovery (ENR) Activated Carbon pilot study. Construction started on November
28, 2016 and is expected to complete in January 2017.

ENR means covering contaminated sediments (river mud) with a thin layer of
sand to speed up the process of natural recovery – the natural deposition of
cleaner sediments to cover contaminated sediments. The goal of the pilot study
is to determine whether adding activated carbon to the sand layer can reduce PCB
bioavailability in sediment as part of ENR. PCB bioavailability is the amount of
PCBs that can be taken up by fish and other living things in the river.

September 2016

Phase 3 Begins for USGS Green River Loading Study
The purpose of this research project is to find out how much suspended
sediment and chemical pollution is coming down the river into the cleanup
site. Phase 1 and 2 seem to show that the sediments coming downstream have
lower levels of PCBs than previous estimates, and there is less total
material coming down than other previous estimates. The
Phase 3
Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) has been approved. USGS will
continue collection of water and suspended sediment samples at River Mile
10.8 (Foster Golf Links) until April 2017. Additionally in this phase, they
will analyze the samples to estimate the concentration of PCBs dissolved in
the water.

August 2016

Whitehead Tyee Agreed Order Signed In August 2016, Ecology entered into a legal agreement called
an Agreed Order (AO) with Seattle Iron & Metals Corporation and 730
Myrtle LLC (the Potentially Liable Parties or PLPs) for the site located
at 730 South Myrtle Street in the Georgetown area of Seattle. Click here
to view the web page for the
Whitehead Tyee Cleanup Site.

Phase I Municipal Stormwater Permit Modified
Ecology’s modification to the
Phase I Municipal Stormwater Permit took effect in August 2016. It
includes requirements for Seattle to adaptively manage their municipal
stormwater discharges to the Lower Duwamish Waterway.

June 2016

Ecology Updates Source Control Strategy Ecology made significant updates to their
Source Control
Strategy for the Lower Duwamish Waterway, which include developing a
procedure to let EPA know when source control is sufficient for river
cleanup to begin, and requesting Source Control Implementation Plans
from other local regulatory agencies.

City of Seattle Publishes Draft Final Source Control
Implementation Plan
Seattle’s
Draft Final Source Control Implementation Plan describes their
planned activities to control sources within their authorities over a
five year period (2015-2020).
See their website for the Plan,
Appendices, and Map Atlas, along with a video that highlights their
source control activities.

Progress Report: USGS Green River Loading Study
The U.S. Geological Survey submitted a
Progress Report and
Data
Tables to document the status of the project, which was suspended in autumn 2015 due to a
funding shortfall.

January 2016

Phase 2 Report: USGS Green River Loading Study
Between November 2013 and March 2015, the U.S. Geological
Survey collected representative samples of water, suspended sediment, or
bed sediment from the Duwamish River upstream of the Superfund site.
Samples were analyzed for a large suite of compounds, including metals,
dioxins/furans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pesticides,
polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) Aroclors and the 209 PCB congeners, and
other chemicals. For more information see the
Phase
2 Report and its
Appendices.

Older Reports

Phase 1 Report: USGS Green River Loading Study
Between February and June 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey collected
representative samples of whole water, suspended sediment, and (or) bed
sediment from a single strategically located site on the Duwamish River,
during seven periods of different flow conditions. For more information, see
the
Phase 1 Report.